Chapter 417: Sacrifice to Heaven (Part 2)

He did not enter the cabin to disturb them, instead taking out a blanket and remaining on the deck.

Xin Xue’Er had been woken up earlier, and now that things had settled down, she quickly fell asleep again.

The sky full of starlight was reflected in the lake, shimmering and rippling. The small boat swayed gently with the waves.

GLUG!

Fang Rui lay down on his back, untied his gourd, and slowly sipped from it.

The night passed without incident.

…

「The next day.」

Early in the morning, amidst the wisps of thin mist, Fang Rui took Xin Xue’er, bid farewell to the Helmsman’s family, and left on a crane.

Afterward, they arrived at a nearby county town. He changed their appearances and planned to rest for a day or two.

In the morning, Fang Rui and Xin Xue’er were eating at a small food stall.

Just then, a beautiful figure in white, shrouded in a hazy glow, suddenly appeared.

‘It’s her—Yu Yunlan. How did she get here? Such a coincidence… It can’t be, right?’

Fang Rui remained outwardly calm, but his heart skipped a beat.

He hadn’t sensed any Divination aimed at him, and he had even changed his appearance to prevent her from finding him, yet his intuition told him that Yu Yunlan was here for him.

As expected, Yu Yunlan sat down across from him. “Fellow Daoist Fang, we meet again.”

‘What a beautiful big sister!’

Xin Xue’Er thought to herself. She glanced at Fang Rui, then at Yu Yunlan, before obediently burying her head in her bowl and eating without a word.

‘Mother said that children shouldn’t ask about adult matters.’

“Sigh!”

Fang Rui sighed. With a wave of his sleeve, he used his Spiritual Power to form an array, isolating them from the outside world.

“How did you find me, Fellow Daoist Yu?”

‘Divination should have been impossible, and he was confident he had cleaned up all other traces!’

“Intuition.”

Yu Yunlan’s vermilion lips parted, uttering a single word. Her voice was as clear as jade, yet it gave off the coldness of a snow lotus on a high mountain peak.

If it were anyone else, her answer probably would have ended there—you asked, I answered, whether you understand is your own business.

However, Fang Rui was different after all.

Yu Yunlan thought for a moment before adding, “I possess the Celestial Spirit Body. If I want to find someone, I can.”

‘Great. Very powerful.’

Hearing this answer, Fang Rui was momentarily speechless. He couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from twitching.

No evidence, no logic, just pure intuition. In a word: unsolvable.

“Fellow Daoist Yu, how much do you know about me?” he asked tentatively.

“The matter with the Zhen Family in Wuzhou, the Demon Ancestor, the matter with the Liao Family in Liangzhou… that was all you.”

Yu Yunlan naturally knew that in this world, it was impossible for a Super Grade to be born outside of the Great Yu Royal Family or the Great Yu Noble Families. The only exception… was a variable.

“Ahem!”

Fang Rui’s heart tightened.

“But none of that concerns me,” Yu Yunlan added.

“What I’ve done is tantamount to rebelling against Great Yu. You’re not going to do anything about it?”

Fang Rui had long suspected this, but he still asked for confirmation.

“I won’t. Others cannot, but you can. As long as you revere Heaven and respect the Yu, you may do as you please.”

“Why?”

“You are the variable. The hope.”

For the first time, a ripple of emotion appeared in Yu Yunlan’s eyes, which were as cold as a snowy mountain. “You exist outside of causality and Reincarnation. The trajectory of fate curves around you.”

‘Is she talking about my status as a Transmigrator?’

Fang Rui didn’t fully understand, but he confirmed one thing: at least they wouldn’t be fighting today.

At the same time, he discovered that although communicating with Yu Yunlan was like a Q&A session with a machine, she did have a good side: she answered every question and never lied.

So, he continued asking, “Fellow Daoist Yu, why were you looking for me?”

“I came to invite you to Divine Wood City. The Celestial Path slumbers, and the Rebel King Yuwen An has fallen into depravity. He must be executed!”

As Yu Yunlan spoke the word ‘executed’, her expression remained cold, without a trace of killing intent.

“Why not have the Great Yu Court send reinforcements? Wouldn’t that be better?”

“It would be too slow. There could be complications. Besides…”

Yu Yunlan paused. “There are hundreds of thousands of people in Divine Wood City.”

‘This woman is different from the other higher-ups of Great Yu. She still has some kindness in her heart. But that makes sense. If she weren’t like this, how could she be the Purple Cloud Pavilion Profound Chief?’

Fang Rui thought to himself and asked, “Can’t you go by yourself?”

“No. My Celestial Spirit Body tells me that it would be dangerous.”

Yu Yunlan said it frankly, without any attempt to hide it.

‘Jeez, is the Celestial Spirit Body really that absurd? Is she the Celestial Path’s own daughter or what?’

Fang Rui complained internally while pressing, “And with me, it’s enough?”

“Yes.”

“Let me think.”

Fang Rui frowned and thought to himself: ‘My plan already involved striking back against the Great Black Heaven’s invasion. Not to mention, by participating, I can use Yu Yunlan to foil Great Black Heaven’s plot and harvest Tribulation Points. If so, my path as a Spirit Master to the Profound Domain will be secured.’

‘The only thing is… the issue of safety…’

A glint flashed in his eyes. He looked at Yu Yunlan and asked, “Could I borrow the Map of Mountains and Rivers to perform a Divination?”

The strength of Divination and shielding are relative to each other.

With an Innate Supreme Treasure, plus a sliver of status from his panel, he was able to divine even heaven and earth back in Shangluo.

Fang Rui didn’t believe that Yuwen An in Divine Wood City could still block his Divination if he had an Innate Supreme Treasure in hand.

“You may.”

Without hesitation, Yu Yunlan beckoned with her slender hand, and a scroll glittering with seven-colored light appeared.

“Thanks.”

Fang Rui took the Map of Mountains and Rivers, pouring his Spiritual Power into it. It felt much more powerful than the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Chaos Four Symbols Banner. ‘No, it must be that Yu Yunlan has granted me higher permissions.’

“Open!”

He let out a sharp cry. The Innate Supreme Treasure Map of Mountains and Rivers, the sliver of status from his panel, and his Limit-Breaking Level Divination Skill all activated at once, breaking through a layer of misty blockade.

Result of the Divination: Greatly Auspicious.

“We can go!”

Fang Rui returned the Map of Mountains and Rivers and spoke decisively. “Last night’s incident in Pinghu County has already alerted the enemy. This matter should be handled sooner rather than later. Fellow Daoist Yu, when do you think we should depart?”

“Now.”

“Then now it is.”

“Uncle, what about me?”

Xin Xue’Er had long since finished her meal and was sitting quietly to the side. She finally chimed in.

Because she realized that if she didn’t speak up, her uncle was about to be whisked away by this beautiful big sister who had appeared out of nowhere!

“Er…”

Fang Rui was just thinking about where he could leave the little girl for a couple of days.

“She can enter my map,” Yu Yunlan suddenly said.

“Your map? The Map of Mountains and Rivers, can you take me in too?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent. I have a bold idea. We can…”

…

「Divine Wood Prefecture City.」

It was high noon. The scorching sun blazed down, baking the earth.

Outside the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office, on a high platform.

The civil and military officials stood in two columns.

At the very front was a black altar that had been constructed overnight by craftsmen who were summoned the previous night.

“My lord, the auspicious hour has arrived.”

“Good!”

Dressed in a black robe, with darkness and crimson swirling in the depths of his eyes, Yuwen An walked forward step by step.

‘Seizing cities and territories is only possible during a great tribulation like this. Normally, any rebellion would be brutally suppressed by Great Yu.’

‘Unfortunately, my preparations in the two prefectures were insufficient. I only have the several hundred thousand people of Divine Wood Prefecture City.’

‘But it’s enough. By the time Great Yu mobilizes its army, I will have already sacrificed a city to please the god of Great Black Heaven. And if the Great Yu Court dares to send a powerful expert alone, I have an even bigger surprise waiting.’

All these thoughts flashed through Yuwen An’s mind. Standing before the altar, he began to recite the sacrificial text: “Qing Tian is dead, Great Black Heaven shall rise! Today, I, Yuwen An…”

‘Who says Great Black Heaven fears the light and the sun? Today, I will sacrifice a city at high noon!’

‘JIE JIE JIE JIE JIE! One day, this great sun of Qing Tian will also be reversed and turn scarlet!’

He sneered internally and shouted, “Kowtow!”

THUD!

With the first kowtow.

The Qi Fortune above the heads of the civil and military officials dissipated, and their faces turned deathly pale.

Throughout the city, the common people in every household, like stringed puppets, also prostrated themselves, their faces as pale as if they had just suffered a major illness.

“Second kowtow.”

With the second kowtow.

The auras of everyone in the city weakened.

Indeed: the first kowtow scatters essence; the second kowtow weakens qi; the third shatters the Divine Soul, scatters the spirit, and damns the True Spirit for eternity!

“Third—”

Just as Yuwen An was about to finish his word.

A cluster of seven-colored light suddenly appeared in the void. It was Yu Yunlan, who had arrived using the spatial teleportation of the Map of Mountains and Rivers.

BOOM!

A massive pillar of light descended, shattering the altar.

“Hmm?!”

After his initial shock, Yuwen An erupted in fury. “The Map of Mountains and Rivers, and the current Celestial Heart Profound Lady? How bold! Since you dared to come today, you can just stay here forever!”

In that instant, billowing black gas surged from the ground, sealing off the entire Divine Wood City. The sky twisted and darkened as the environment shifted, transforming into a cursed land tainted by Great Black Heaven.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Three pages from the Black Heaven Mysterious Book rose into the air.

From one page, an image of the Eternal Nether River appeared. From another, a colorful, graffiti-covered Twisted Dragon flew out. And on the third was a corpse exuding an ominous aura.

Three Evil Gods!!!